A dilettante’s adventures and misadventures collecting autographed books, baseballs, and photos; meeting celebrities and ball players; and attending conventions from the past 35 years.
I have found iZombie very entertaining. It’s a fun quirky
show.
DragonCon had a few people from the series. It was a good opportunity
to start a ‘project’ if you are into that.
Malcolm Goodwin was tireless. He was always at his table. He
stood the whole time and chatted in length with everyone. It was an inclusive
chat. He included the people in line too.
He shared an anecdote about the Twitter-verse commenting on his
checkered tie with a striped shirt. While most people on the set thought it was
a good look, Twitter disagreed.
Bryce Hodgson was friendly. We chatted about his character
growth and getting more facetime with the audience.
Aly Michalka was glamourous. I had no idea she was a Disney
child prodigy. She tours with her sister singing.
Nick Zano led the conversion. He asked how tall I was. Then he told me
I must have played sports in school. What did I play? I told him baseball. Then he asked what position. I said 3rd. As a lefty? (We had established our mutual lefty-ness when he signed the photo). Why, 3rd? Because of Mike Schmidt. I wanted to play 3rd base like Mike. He laughed. He is
a Yankees fan. I won’t hold that against him.
He was fun to chat with and it was nice to talk about stuff you really
would chat about with stranger.
The Wife and I really enjoyed the series 24. So, when I walked
up to D B Woodside and placed a Lucifer photo in front of him, I only talked about
24. Silly? Yeah, but it’s a good photo. Why let details get in the way.
He was happy to talk 24 and the rumors of the show coming
back...again. He had good memories from the show and actors.
One day. Yes, one day, I’ll watch Gotham and really enjoy it. Then I can relish the fact I got all of the actors autographs long before I watched.
Of course, now while I’m getting their autographs, I don’t have
much to say to them about the show.
Maggie Geha was stunningly pretty in person. She was quiet but
that could be I didn’t have much to say. I really liked that she drew some ivy
leaves under her signature.
Can I admit I never watched much of V TV series from 1983 and 1984? I was
in college and I watched very little TV. I knew it was out there but it just
didn’t seem every interesting. I did
have friends that enjoyed it and told me I needed to give it a chance. I never did. I watched the 2009 version
and enjoyed that. Oh well.
Jane Badler was sweet. She chatted about the rumors of a
movie or another story. She said some people still keep the fires burning for continuing
the story.
DragonCon did not disappoint with the Wynonna Earp
cast. Just about every reoccurring cast
member was present. Of the people in Atlanta, I only needed two: TamaraDuarte and Greg Lawson.
Both were friendly and willing to chat.
Greg Lawson tempted me. I generally don’t get multiple items
signed by the same person. While I make exceptions, I’m usually one and done.
He had a photo on his table that I toyed getting signed
all weekend. There was an episode where he was dressed as Santa and Katherina
Barrell was dressed as an elf. The photo had her sitting in his lap and arms
around his neck. He mentioned it was a personal
photo and they both agreed to print for the show. It was very cute and it begged me to get it signed
by both of them.
Every time I passed the table, the photo would whisper
in my ear.
While I resisted spending the extra money I still think about
it.
Again, shows on the Sy Fy network don’t seem to do signings at
SDCC. A lot of the actors aren’t on the convention tour either. When DragonCon
announced that Steven Strait and Wes Chatham were attending, my ears perked up. This
was going to be a rare occasion. I hope other members of this cast start
appearing at conventions.
Steven and Wes’s signing tables were next to each other. They
each had a few people in line. They chatted and signed and posed for photos.
While the photos I choose were not the best for signatures, I
liked them as they had the ‘feel’ from the show.
I said the same thing to both of them: Really enjoyed the show.
Glad Amazon picked it up. As I have said in the past, it’s a show that you need
to pay attention. You can’t play Word with Friends when it’s showing.
I have seen this a few times with child actors. Their lines
aren’t that long or the queue is empty. Most of the people coming up are teenage
girls with their friends as they barely gathered the courage to say 'hi’ and they
quickly retreat.
So, when I walked up, Jared Gilmore didn’t have anyone in line.
He quickly looked up as I approach and had a smile on his face. Before I told the handler what I wanted, I had
my hand out and introduced myself.
I turned to the handler and told her I wanted one autograph and
picked out a photo. I paid her and turned back to Jared.
Me: Are they treating you okay?
Jared (with a big smile): Yes!
Me: Good. Good. Don’t let them overwork you. Sometimes they forget to give you water or
feed you. We can bring in the union rep.
Jared (laughing): No, everything is good. No need for that.
Me: Okay. Sometimes they just don’t think. Keep them honest.
Jared: Yes, sir. (lifting
the photo to focus my attention) Want your name on this?
Me: No. No need for that.
And watch out for this one (I point to the handler). You can just see it
in her face. She is guilty. I don’t know of what, but she is.
The handler gives us her best innocent and angelic face. We all
laugh. I shook his hand and thanked him
for coming to Atlanta. As I was leaving,
I told him The Wife and I really did enjoy the show.
As I turn away, I see them all wondering what the hell just
happened. I’m not really sure either but it’s DragonCon. ‘Nuff said.
As I was standing in line for Rebecca Mader, the two ladies in
front of me were giggling and worried that Rebecca saw them in line. They were practically
BEGGING me to engage. I didn’t want to but reluctantly I did. Based on their
comment, I quietly asked if they were stalkers.
They giggled with their success of drawing me in. With an overly
dramatic air of mystery, they said it was the other way around. Rebecca
stalks them. Again, they were BEGGING for me to engage. This time I did not indulge
them. It was too ‘grade school’ and I was tired.
It turned out that Rebecca knew them by name. I dare say one
of the ladies looked at me to see if I was jealous. I was not. They had a few
gifts they bought for her and they spent a few minutes opening them and exchanging
hugs. I just smiled and pretended like I cared.
Then it was my turn. I handed over my photo and said hello.
Then I heard my name from behind me. I’m in Atlanta. The only
one that knows me here is The Wife. Even when she is mad at me, it’s not that
deep. I turned and it was someone I knew
from SDCC. He is asking me how I’m doing. Rebecca is asking me how I’m doing. Total
chaos as I tried not to turn my back to either of them.
I got my photo signed and then started catching up with a
SDCC buddy. He lives not too far from Atlanta and this is his favorite show. We
hung out for a while and then went our separate ways. Small world.
It was good to get Rebecca’s auto AND to see a familiar face.
I really enjoy The Magicians. Sometimes the plot loses me but
I still enjoy the show. Over the years,
the actors haven’t done many appearances and I’m not aware that SDCC had any
cast signings. Any appearance is eagerly awaited by me.
When I learned that Olivia Taylor Dudley was scheduled to attend
DragonCon, I was happy. When the day arrived and I finally got to met her, she was
pleasant. She smiled as I tried to be funny and compliment her.
DragonCon had three crew members from The Orville in the Walk
of Fame (autograph area).
First up was Peter Macon. Yes, he looked very different out
of make-up. He was nice and he laughed as
I picked up the photo of him wearing the pornstache. Peter said there was nothing
more to say after seeing that. It makes a statement if not being iconic.
J Lee was next to Peter. I mentioned how I loved the first episode
and that he brought large drink to the bridge.
Then asked if it was okay. We all have drinks at our desk at work. Of course crew members on a ship would want a cup of coffee or a soda nearby. He said he forgot about that and needed to
try to work that back into the show. We’ll see.
Mark Jackson was on the other side of room. He was quiet but
friendly. He added the quote on his own.
He mentioned that originally, Isaac was supposed to have red eyes. Everyone
agreed it was too scary. Blue was friendlier. Which worked out well when the
Orville visited Kaylon and the true reason Isaac was gathering information was
revealed.
Dave Chapman is half of the BB8 team. I walked up and he signed. I liked the photo
with both of them in it. As I was leaving, Brain Herring, the other half of the
BB8 team, looked over expecting me to come get an autograph from him. I took a step toward him and told him I saw
him in Plano TX. He remembered the event
(Madness Comics). I just wanted to let him know why I wasn’t getting his autograph
too.
He told Dave that is was a nice place. A shame he wasn’t
there. It was a good time and ‘blah blah
blah’. He said all positive stuff.
I turned to Dave with a big smile and said: You know…they
just talked bad about you. How you didn’t want to go to Texas and it was too
hot…too many cows….
They both laughed. Dave agreed they probably did talk crap
about him. Brian said that really sounded like him too. They both laughed as they knew each other so
well and knew that would never happen.
One day, my mouth will get me in trouble. But it was a good
encounter and both seem like good guys.
I’ve slowly collected a few Stargate actors over the years. Not many of them do shows. I’m not sure if
that is Creation Convention burnout or they just don’t like to do conventions. DragonCon
allowed me to add two more to my collection.
First was David Blue, who you might not recognize now. He is
grown and buff. He no longer has that pudgy look that made ‘Eli’ nerdy on Stargate
Universe.
When I mentioned I was binge watching Stargate, he asked if I
knew that Stargate started on Showtime before Sy Fy channel picked it up. I did know that. Showtime did a lot of sci fi
back then. I watched most of it. Then he asked if I saw the full-frontal nudity
in the first episode. I vaguely remember
a female ‘god’ showing more skin than sy fy would have allowed at that
time. To be truthful, it didn’t shock
me.
Then his handler piped in. She mentioned that her teenage
son only watched the first episode. She didn’t understand why until she watched
it. Then she spent years teasing him which
probably sent the son into therapy.
Next to David was Paul McGillion. While Stargate SG1 had gung-ho characters, Atlantis had scientists that were more reserved. They did
not seek out the action. When I choose
the photo with Paul holding a gun, he mentioned that was actually his favorite photo.
It was out of character for him. His character didn’t use the gun in that scene
but it was the closest he came to doing so.
Emma Dumont was in the ‘Walk of Fame’ on Friday. The ‘Walk
of Fame’ is what DragonCon calls the autograph area. It’s one part ‘cute’ and
one part ‘pretentious’ but it works for DragonCon.
Emma was chatty and friendly. Her hair was black. I think 5
people in a row commented that they expected her to have green hair like she wore on the show, The Gifted. An odd comment but it was neat she was signing in
green ink. She did say she really liked the color green.
Well, guess what? The next day and the rest of the show, she
showed up with green in her hair. A nice tip of the hat to the fans and in the flavor of
DragonCon.
Jamie Chung showed up on Saturday. While she also stars in
The Gifted, I got a photo signed from Sin City.
A movie I really enjoy. I did tell her I also enjoyed the movie, Sucker
Punch. I added you have to love any movie that used Tomorrow Never Knows by The
Beatles. She laughed and said they were a lot of creative people on that set.
Another actor from the Walking Dead universe I got was Karen David. I walked up and the handler asked if I wanted
my name on the photo. I said ‘no’. Karen
shook my hand and asked my name. I told her. The handler got confused and
thought I said I wanted my name on the photo.
She started to write my name on a sticky note. Karen looked at her and said it wasn’t
needed. Now the handler was really confused.
If you know me…sometimes I’ll add a little gas to a funny situational
fire. Me: Nope, not needed. We are old friends. Karen: (a moment of indecision but decided to see where this
would go…) Yep. We go way back. Handler:…really…? I didn’t know you knew each other. I’m
sorry…(as she puts the pen and sticky note away.)
Me: Oh, no worries. We used to date in College.
Karen: (a positive nod in affirmation) Yes…now when was that…? Handler: (trying to figure out the age difference between me
and Karen) …? Me: Gosh at least 20 years ago. We met…. (I stop as I saw
the handler finally catch on.)
I apologize to the handler.
Karen shook my hand again and asked me to tell her about my name. She remembered
it through the impromptu comedy routine. I
paused wondering if she wanted to know the history or how I was given the name.
While I debated, she asked how it was spelled. I spelled it. I
told her I got it from my Dad who got it from his Dad. That it ‘meant’ warrior of the king. I paused and said that was about all I knew. Then to be cheeky, I asked if I passed the test.
I did. We chatted about the show. About her trying to balance zombie
(world crisis) with a possibly higher impact crisis (radioactive zombies and a Chernobyl
like event).) We spoke about how amazing Lennie James was. She knew him from a show
I didn’t know. I knew him from a show she didn’t know. But we both knew him from
Jericho. At the end of all this, she still remembered my name and
added it to the photo.
Normally I blog in something that looks like chronological order.
Today I’m starting with one of my most energetic
encounters at DragonCon.
Most of the Walking Dead cast is high energy. They are friendly
and outgoing. Even the minor characters or ones killed off in the first couple
of seasons seem to be fan oriented. Cooper Andrews tips the scales with his interactions.
As I was standing in line, he stood to the side of the table
and had his arm around the fans as they took selfies. It wasn’t just one
selfie. It was several silly selfies. He gave the fans one sentence stage
directions as he held the phone and snapped the photo. I heard:
Look to the left and you see a T-Rex charging…
Look to the right and your bestie is about to hug you…
Pretend the phone is the alarm clock and you want to hit
snooze…
Give a big sinister laugh…
He had dozens of these suggestions. Cooper was in every shot and laughing after
every one. This was entertaining to watch as I crept closer to the front. I must
admit I was tempted to get a selfie. Yes, me. The guy that always says, no one
wants to see a photo of me.
Once it was my turn, we chatted. Then he offered me some
cobbler. His wife made it. It seems to be his shtick when he goes to
conventions. I think he said it was his
mom’s recipe. He signed and I turned to
leave with cobbler in a small while Styrofoam cup with a small while plastic
spoon.
He gave me an eyebrow and asked if I was really going to eat
it. I knew he was teasing. I laughed and said I would. He told me didn’t believe me. He said, I better take a taste now. I was laughing. Trying to shift my signed
photo, the cup, and the spoon. He waited.
I placed my photo on the table and took a big bite. And before I swallowed, I placed a second spoonful
in. I had him laughing. And of course,
he asked if it was delicious while my mouth was full. And yes, it was good. I must
admit I was on a sugar rush as I talked to be the next celeb.
